Advocate staff photo by PAM BORDELON --- Bengal Belles --- At the first Bengal Belle luncheon of the season are, from left, Carolyn Hebert, Machita "Belle" Eyre and Aimée Simon.

Advocate staff photo by PAM BORDELON --- Bengal Belles --- Arriving at the River Center for the first Bengal Belle luncheon of the season are, from left, long snapper Reid Ferguson, academic advisor Debbie Heroman, running back Leonard Fournette and kicker Colby Delahoussaye.

Advocate staff photo by PAM BORDELON --- Bengal Belles --- LSU football coach Les Miles get a box of the famous, 'NCAA approved' Bengal Belle cookies from President Aimée Simon as wife Kathy Miles looks on.

Advocate staff photo by PAM BORDELON --- Bengal Belles --- At the first Bengal Belle luncheon of the season are, from left, Carolyn Hebert, Machita "Belle" Eyre and Aimée Simon.

Advocate staff photo by PAM BORDELON --- Bengal Belles --- Arriving at the River Center for the first Bengal Belle luncheon of the season are, from left, long snapper Reid Ferguson, academic advisor Debbie Heroman, running back Leonard Fournette and kicker Colby Delahoussaye.

Advocate staff photo by PAM BORDELON --- Bengal Belles --- LSU football coach Les Miles get a box of the famous, 'NCAA approved' Bengal Belle cookies from President Aimée Simon as wife Kathy Miles looks on.

A very wise woman once told her husband, “I married you for life but not for lunch!” That was the prevailing sentiment of Kathy Miles and her fellow coaches’ wives when asked if they were glad their husbands were back at work on the football field.

Bengal Belles

Emcee Gordy Rush posed the question to coach Les Miles’ wife at the kickoff Bengal Belles luncheon the Thursday before LSU’s abbreviated season opener against McNeese State in Tiger Stadium. “We’re (coaches’ wives) used to being pretty independent so I’m glad Les is back at work,” said Kathy.

The River Center ballroom was awash in purple and gold and everything tiger for the luncheon. Welcoming everyone was Belle No. 1, Aimée Simon. Belle No. 2, Carolyn Hebert, was in charge of pulling the winning tickets for door prizes. Former LSU coach and player Jerry Stovall opened the official part of the program with a prayer.

A video starring former Tiger Justin Vincent looked back on Hurricane Katrina, which hit Louisiana 10 years ago. Also sharing her memories was Kathy Miles, who said she witnessed first-hand the determination and kindness of Louisianians.

She was then joined on stage by Tigers Colby “the Cajun Kicker” Delahoussaye, Reid Ferguson and Leonard Fournette. They all agreed they were ready to face someone other than their teammates on their field. Rush asked the three to do their best impression of new defensive line coach Ed Ogeron, and the 1,000 or so fans, predominantly women, proclaimed Delahoussaye as the winner of the famous, “NCAA-approved” Bengal Belle cookies. He also endeared himself to the crowd with his Boudreaux and Thibodeaux joke; apparently he’s the team comedian.

Next to the podium was the Mad Hatter himself, arriving to a rousing rendition of “Callin’ Baton Rouge” that had everyone on their feet clapping and shaking purple and gold pom-poms. In a serious moment, Miles recalled his first season as coach — he and his family arrived a few months prior to Hurricane Katrina’s arrival.

“The prevailing thought among the team was that the best thing we could do for the state was to play the best we could; that’s what the team decided on,” said Miles. “We’d play for team over ourselves.”

Then the team corrected the coach and said, no, they’d play for Louisiana first, the team second and themselves last.

Talk soon turned to the game against McNeese and the start of the 2015 season. “This is an unusual group of men,” said Miles, “They have great character … they want to do their best … they’re looking to compete. We will handle business.”

Rush’s last question for the coach went back to the question he asked Kathy and the other coaches’ wives. The correct answer would earn him a batch of the Bengal Belle cookies. Grinning from ear to ear, Miles replied he felt sure that every wife missed her husband and wanted him back “in the house, in the car, in bed.” While not exactly correct, the answer was too priceless not to give coach the cookies.

Rites of Passage

Attired in native African dress, 19 high school seniors were introduced at the Nu Gamma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s annual Rites of Passage Ceremony Aug. 23 at the Greater King David Education & Cultural Center. This year’s theme was “Inspiring Greatness Through Cultural Enlightenment.”

Welcoming guests and introducing the debutantes were chapter President Chandra Stacie and emcee Deidre Deculus Robert. Featured speakers included the Rev. Sheila Brock, youth minister at S t. John Baptist Church in Alsen, and state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome.

Errin Gaines is the general debutante chairwoman. Brandy Johnson and Mia Kleinpeter are co-chairwomen.

Follow Pam on Twitter @pamspartyline. Items for Pam’s Party Line must be received by 9 a.m. the Monday preceding the run date. High-resolution digital photos should be emailed to pbordelon@theadvocate.com. Hard copy photos should be dropped off at or mailed to The Advocate, 7290 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Events will run no later than four weeks after they have taken place. The date, place of the event and a contact name and daytime phone number must be included. Photos will be used at the discretion of The Advocate.